Inuit from Labrador, from Esquimaux Indians of the Coast of Labrador, handcoloured etching, 1812

AOA 1972.Am.Q4

Africa, Oceania, Americas

Woman's
amauti of
sealskin

Inuit, date
unknownProbably from Labrador or Nunavik,
eastern Canadian Arctic

Unfortunately, there is no documentation on
this beautiful woman's outer parka. However, the design of
the costume, particularly the shape of the back flap and the
decoration on the garment's edges, indicate that it was
made in Nunavik or Labrador. The back flap is narrow, curving
slightly inwards below the waist, and ending in a rounded tip. The
decoration with bands of contrasting white and dark stripes of
sealskin at the edges of the garment are characteristic of costumes
from this part of the eastern Canadian
Arctic.

Amauti
of this style were used by the Inuit of Labrador until their
costume changed through the influence of missionaries in the
eighteenth century. Thus, it is possible that the
amauti dates to the very
first years of contact. It may have been worn by one of the Inuit
women brought to England by British explorers, who often brought
back inhabitants to prove their discoveries. Many of these captured
Inuit were painted by European artists, and the paintings -
although varying in accuracy of representation - remain valuable
documents of Inuit clothing from that
time.

Alternatively, the
amauti could have been
made somewhat later by Inuit of Nunavik. It is very similar to an
amauti now in the McCord
Museum, Canada that was collected by Dr William Wakeham in 1897,
probably on the southern shores of Hudson Strait. This
amauti may have been
made around the same time in that area.

J.C.H. King, First peoples, first contacts: (London, The British Museum Press, 1999)